As part of its sustainability reporting, CCEP reports on the amount of primary packaging collected for recycling as a percentage of total primary packaging in the markets in which it operates. CCEP commissioned Eunomia to support this reporting by researching and consolidating data on the rates of packaging collected for recycling for 18 countries (11 European and 7 Asia Pacific) for its 2024 reporting year.
The study focussed on primary beverage packaging formats, including PET bottles, one way glass bottles, aluminium cans, steel cans and cartons. It also covered two secondary packaging formats (paper/cardboard and plastic packaging), relevant to CCEP’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions modelling.
In collecting data, we followed CCEP’s data hierarchy, which prioritises government statistics and audited regional datasets over academic studies or anecdotal reports. We engaged directly with CCEP’s auditor to explain changes in data sources and recycling rate calculation methodologies compared with previous years’ reporting, providing assurance that the data hierarchy had been followed and transparency around data sources.
Close collaboration with CCEP’s in-country business units helped build a shared understanding of local collection infrastructure and ensured accurate interpretation of the collected for recycling rates. Insights were also gathered from client personnel actively involved in Producer Responsibility Organisations and national recycling networks. This collaborative way of working helped to overcome key challenges around limited data availability in several countries and unclear definitions and scope of published recycling figures. For example, for countries with limited official data, we worked with CCEP’s local teams to assess the collection rates from CCEP’s own PET bottle and aluminium can collection schemes.
In addition to consolidating 2024 data, where higher-quality data was available for the five years prior to 2024 compared with that previously used for reporting, we recalculated recycling rates for these past years to support CCEP’s carbon accounting restatements.
Senior Consultant at Eunomia, Amie Walley said: “Our work enabled CCEP to accurately report on progress toward its packaging recycling goals, as well as to re-baseline its GHG emissions. In addition, by providing CCEP with insights into fluctuations in recycling rates across countries, we were also able to help them distinguish between isolated anomalies and broader trends.”
